Half picking time increases the efficiency

An order picker at Engelsons packed between 70 and 80 orders a day before the logistics change. Now, the number has increased to 160 orders a day. Despite that the personnel finds the pace more calm than before.

Most of the returned products has the wrong size for the customer. It goes back to the storage replenishment.Stefan Engelson, CEO Engelsons

Stefan Engelson is the owner and CEO of Engelsons who’s selling hunting- and leisure apparel. The company has its roots in mail order business and that makes their knowledge of e-commerce and logistics great. Stefan’s parents, Gun and Arnold, started the company in a basement in 1974, but there’s a big difference between then and now. In 2010 the company moved to a new warehouse in Falkenberg and that year they had a turnover of about 72 million SEK.

Double the surface and turnoverDuring 2014-15 Engelsons rebuild and doubled the floor surface to approximately 7.000 square meters and the turnover also has doubled since 2010 to about 150 million SEK. In connection with the renovation they also needed to changed the logistics system.
To get the logistics to keep up with the pace as the company grew, they faced some facts.
– First of all we needed to be able to pick more packages, without having to run any faster, Stefan Engelson says and continues:
– We needed to pick more orders simultaneously and reduce errors. We wanted a more proactive replenishment and efficient incoming delivery.

The best solution was picking trolleysWith these challenges to solve Stefan first turned to his acquaintances in the e-commerce industry.
– I asked around of who could be able to help me in terms of logistics and got the tip about Helge Nyberg AB, says Stefan.
The solution for Engelsons were manual picking trolleys with steps. The shelves have dividers that make the appropriately size for the goods to be picked. Each space holds an order. The picking trolleys also has a top shelf where products of slightly different size may be placed, such as a gun case.

Calm tempo for the personnelBefore the build-out an order picker packed between 70 and 80 orders a day and now it’s 160 orders a day. Despite that the personnel finds the pace more calm than before.
The system creates replenishment orders automatically, this means that the products always are in the right place. If a product run out, the order automatically stops, so that they don’t need to send so many partial deliveries.
– I know that we’re working with professionals when working with Helge Nybergs, Stefan says. They’re not trying to sell us something we don’t need. Sometimes the standard product is enough. I like that. We’ve got trolleys that are durable and stable. It’s worth a lot.

Almost nonexistent mispicks– This is exciting for us, says Stefan. We have increased the efficiency using the new trolleys and we’ve speeded up the packing. We have reached our goal with quick deliveries and short lead times. In addition, we have reduced our picking errors to 3 per thousand.
The most important thing for Engelsons is to deliver the products before the weekend. Usually the customer has their goods within a couple of days. Sometimes the customer is in a little bit of extra hurry. If someone needs a pair of boots in the middle of moose hunting, for example, it’s important to be able to deliver a new pair really quickly.
– Or if you suddenly remember that your father-in-law’s birthday is tomorrow, Stefan says and smiles. Most of the time, we can solve everything.